In Oregon’s Lane County, Drugs Pose Potent Problem

Apr 11, 2010

The emergence of “gunpowder heroin,” a powerful new strain also known as GP, has contributed to an increased number of heroin-related deaths in Oregon’s Lane County in recent years, according to law enforcement and health officials. Gunpowder heroin is laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC identified more than 1,000 deaths related to fentanyl between 2005 and 2007 in six states in the East and Midwest. In Lane County, where methamphetamine abuse is widespread, heroin-related deaths outnumbered meth fatalities in 2009. “People who are overdosing [on gunpowder heroin] aren’t aware of how potent it is,” said Jeff Nichols, who coordinates a needle exchange program at the HIV Alliance. And no one is immune. Eugene police have investigated cases involving college, high school, and even junior high school students who smoke gunpowder heroin, said Eugene police Sgt. Kevin McCormick. Similar to the heroin trend, police say the potency of meth now being sold and used in Lane County has increased.